Ignition system for internal-combustion engines.



H. B. RICHARDS.

IGNUION SYSTEM FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED'MARLZII I917.

1,264, 1 30. Patented Apr. 23, 1918.

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UNITED STATES ?ATENT OFF1E HARVEY B. RICHARDS, OF BAY CITY, TEXAS.

IGNITION SYSTEM FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

Application filed March 27, 191?.

To all whom it mag concern:

Be it known that I, HARVEY B. RICHARDS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bay City, in the county of Matagorda and State of Texas,have invented new and use ful' Improvements in Ignition Systems forInternal-Combustion Engines, of which. the following is a specification.

This invention relates to ignition-systems for. internal combustionengines and comprehends the provision of a dual ignition system formultiple cylinder engines *ith which either battery or magneto currentmay be used and having only two coils, one with a vibrator for themagneto current and one without a vibrator for the battery current. Thehigh tension or secondary wire from both coils being connected to oneinsulated wireleading to a high tension distributer, which distributesthe high tension or -ssecondarycurrent to terminals of insulated wiresleading to the spark plugs.

One of the ,objects of the invention is to provide in a system-of thisnature a timing device which will give absolutely accurate timing of theignition in all cylinders, since the primary circuit is made and'brokenfor each of the spark plugs by thesame interrupter, operated by a singlecam, thus assuringthe firing of each cylinder at the same point of itspiston travel, and preventing some cylinders firing too early and otherstoo late as is now the case with other timing devices which employseparate mechanism for making and breaking the circuit for each sparkplug.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide a system which will workequally well on either battery or magneto circuit by simply-throwing aswitch to whichever, circuit is desired.

Another object is to provide a system of this nature havingmaximumeconomy in the consumption of current, such end being attained byhaving the contact on thebattery circuit practically instantaneous andthe contact on themagneto circuit adjustable to the most economical andefficient duration. 1

The invention also aims to generally improve devices ofthis nature torender them more practical, useful, and commercially desirable.

\Vith these and other objects in view as will become more apparent asthe description proceeds, the invention consists inlcer- Specificationof Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 23, 1918. Serial no. 157,766.

tain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement ofparts as will be hereinafter fully described, illustrated and claimed.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus with the casing removed and thebridge broken away.

Fig. 2 is top plan view of the entire apparatus.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional View through the timer.

Referring in detail to the drawings by numerals, 1 designates anauxiliary shaft which may be driven by the engine in any manner andwhich is secured at its upper end to a shaft 7. The shaft 7 is formedwith a socket in its lower end into which the auxiliary shaft'lprojects. A set screw 8 or other suitable fastening means locks the twoshafts together. The shaft 7 may be connected di rect to the engine ifdesired.

The shaft 7 is of a reduced diameter throughout part of its length asindicated at 9 and the inner end of the reduced portion is threaded forengagement with a bevelet ring gear 10 as shown. and a lock nut- 11secures the gear firmly on the shaft in engagement with the shoulderformed by the inner end of the unreduced lower portion thereof. 7

A bushing 12 of suitable material enci1- cles the shaft 7 and isprovided at its inner end with a circular flange 13 which forms abearing for the gear 10.

A shell or housing 1 1 surrounds the gear 10 and is provided with a neck15 which receives the bushing 12. The interior of the housing issuitably recessed as at 16 to accommodate the bushing flange 13. Acollar I 17 is secured to the shaft 7 by a lock screw 18 and serves tohold the shell 14: properly positioned. A washer 19 is interposedbetween the bushing and the collar 17 to prevent an escape of lubricant.A two piece cover 20 having the half sections 21 and 22 is mounted onthe top of the shell 14 and forms asupport for parts to be hereinafterdescribed.

A beveled gear 23 meshes with the ring gear 10 and is formed integrallyon a tubular shaft or sleeve 2% which extends through the cover 20 andwhich is formed integrally on its upper end with a cam 25. The gear issecured to a bridge 26 by a bolt 27 and nut 28.j The bridge has itscentral.

5 Insulated terminal screws 30 and 31 assist in securing the cover inposition and these screws support,"respect1vely, the arms 32 and 33. Thearm 32 is provided'with an adjustable contact screw 34 working throughan ear 35, and the arm 33 is provided with an adjustable contact screw36 working through an ear 37.

A contact arm 38 is secured to the cover section 22 by the pivot pin 39and this arm is provided with a fixed contact point'40 and a movablecontact point 41 mounted on a spring The contact point 40' is adapted tobe engaged by a contact point 43 on a kicking bar 44. This bar is formedwith a longitudinal slot 45' through which extends a guide pin 46. Thebar is formed with an enlar ement 47 adjacent one end which is adaptedto engage a tripping screw 48 adjustable through an ear 49. A spring 5026 retracts the, kicking bar after each operation thereof.

A circuit making and breaking lever 51 having arms 52 and 53 is securedon the cover section 21 by a pivot stud 54 and is swung in one directionby a spring 55. The arm 52 carries a contact point 56 mounted on aspring 57 and is further provided with a cam engaging enlargement 58.The arm 53 of the lever or interrupter 51 is formed with a toothj59which engages a shoulder 60 formed on the kicking bar as shown.

A distributer 61 is secured to the upper end of the shaft 9 and isadapted to individually engage terminals 62 of the spark ously engage aterminal 63. These terminals extend through and are supported by anon-conductive shell casing 64 which is secured to the housing or shell14 as shown. Referring now 'to the diagrammatic view, the operation ofthe system may be described as follows: I

The lever or interrupter 51 is moved by the cam 25 traveling in thedirection shown by the arrow to engage the contact 56 with the contactscrew 34 whereupon the current will flow from the magneto through thevibrator, primary winding and contacts 34,

56 to ground. The current flowing through the primary winding sets upinduced current in the secondary winding which flows to the distributer61, and through one of the wires to the respective spark plug. Thecontact screw 34 may be adjusted so as to cause it to contact with thepoint 56 for the desired length of time. As the lever 51 is operatedbythe cam 25, its arm 53 moves the kicking bar longitudinally andcarries its contact point 43 beyond the contact point 40' on the;

65 contact arm 38. When the kicking bar has plug wires and is alsoadapted to continu-= been moved a predetermined distance, the

pin 46 to disengage the bar from the lever arm 53 whereupon the bar isretracted by the spring 50 causing a short contact of the contact point43 with the contact point 40' whereupon the contact 41 is engagedmomentarily with the contact screw 36 causing current to flow from thebattery through the primary winding and contacts 36, 41 to ground.Current flowing from the primary winding sets up an induced current inthe secondary winding which flows to the dis tributer- 61 and thence toone of the spark o plugs. It will be seen that with both the magnetoswitch and the battery switch closed avery'rich spark will be produced.The tripping screw 48 may be'adjusted to cause a proper release of thekicking bar from the lever arm 53 and the tooth 59 on this arm preventsthe lever swinging about its pivot pin to move the contact point 43'from the path ofthe contact point 40 when the bar is retracted. I

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdraw- 7 ings, it will be seen that I have provided a very simple andpractical dual ignition system which may be operated on either the 95,magneto circuit or battery circuit or both and which will cause anaccurate timing of the ignition in the various cylinders ofa multiplecylinder engine. v 7

While I have shown and described the'1 00 preferred embodiments of myinvention, it will be clearly understood that I do not wish to belimited. to this construction, but may make such changes as will fallwithin the scope and spirit of the invention as claimed. What I claimis-: Y I 1. A timer for ignition systems comprising a pivoted lever,positive means' for moving the lever in one direction, spring means foractuating the lever in the other direction, a spring mounted contactpoint on one arm of said lever, an adjustable contact member adapted tobe engaged by said contact point, a kicking bar movable in one directionby said lever and spring means for retracting said kicking bar. v

2. A timer for ignitionsystems compris- 'ing a cam, means for rotatingsaidcam. a

pivoted lever adapted'to bemoved in one direction by said cam, springmeans for moving the lever in the other direction, a contact pointcarried by said lever, a termif nal adapted to be engaged by saidcontact point, a pivoted contact arm, a contact point carried by thesaid arm, a terminal adapted to be engaged by said contact point and aslidable kicking bar operable in one direction by said lever, and aspring for retracting the kicking bar, the kicking bar being adapted toengage on its rearward movement the contact arm to force its contactinto engagement with the corresponding terminal.

In a timer for ignition systems, a shaft adapted to be driven by theengine, a cam rotated by said shaft, a pivoted lever adapted to beengaged by said cam and moved in one direction to close a circuit, akicking bar, means slidably mounting said kicking bar for longitudinalmovement, said kicking bar being moved in one direction by the pivotedlever, a tripping screw for disengaging the kicking bar from said lever,and spring means for retracting the kicking bar, said kicking bar beingadapted on its rearward movement to close a second circuit.

4. In an ignition system for internal combustion engines, a shaft drivenby the engine, a cam, gearing connecting said cam with said shaft forrotational movement, a pivoted lever adapted to be engaged by said camand moved in one direction to close a circuit, a kicking bar adapted tobe moved in one direction by said lever, means for releasing the kickingbar from the lever and means for retracting the kicking bar whenreleased from the lever to close a second circuit, and a distributermounted on and actuated by said shaft.

5. In an ignition system for internal combustion engines, a shaftadapted to be driven by an engine, a cam, gearing connecting said camwith the shaft, a pivoted lever, a contact on said lever, an adjustablecontact screw adapted to be engaged by said contact, a primary magnetocircuit including said adjusting screw, a pivoted contact arm, anadjustable contact screw adapted to be engaged by said contact arm, aprimary battery circuit including said last mentioned adjusted screw, akicking bar movable in one direction by said lever, means for releasingthe kicking bar from the lever, means for retracting the kicking barwhen released from the lever to momentarily engage the contact arm withits contact screw, a secondary magneto circuit, a secondary batterycircuit, and a distributor in said secondary circuits, said distributerbeing connected to and operated by the shaft of the timer.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature.

HARVEY B. RICHARDS.

Guile: 0! this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe "Commissioner 0! Patents,

Washington, D. 0.

